SPINE_CASCADE_READINESS.md

pipelines/SPINE_CASCADE_READINESS.md

Phase 6 Story Spine Cascade — Repo Readiness Scaffold

Operational readiness layer for driving the Phase 6 Spine Cascade from this repo

(remote-control capable). Not canon, not the handbook. Canonical authority is

_source/99_Tier_99_Operational/T99_Story_Spine_Build_Logic [ACTIVE v3.2].md

(the cascade handbook) plus T1_Build_Pipeline_Contracts §9 (schema/state machines/

9-grid apparatus). This doc only maps that handbook onto repo paths and flags the

gaps that must close before Ch 2 runs.

Build order & pacing (handbook §3)

Ch 2 → Ch 3 → … → Ch 77 → Epilogue → Final Range Review (9-grid lock) → Prologue → Ch 1.

One chapter per session (~60-80% context budget). Range Reviews gate every 10

chapters at Ch 12, 22, 32, 42, 52, 62, 72 + one Final Range Review before

Prologue/Ch 1 (8 total). No forward build across an open Range Review. ~88 sessions.

18 canonical hard-line chapters (Stage-2 canonical-question review, handbook

Appendix A): Prologue, Ch 1, Ch 8, Ch 29, Ch 38, Ch 42, Ch 55, Ch 57, Ch 58, Ch 65,

Ch 66, Ch 67, Ch 68, Ch 69, Ch 74, Ch 76, Ch 77, Epilogue.

Per-session load manifest → repo paths (handbook §4)

Always-loaded foundation (§4.1): CVD, T1_Build_Pipeline_Contracts, T1_Architecture_and_State,

T1_World_Geography_Master, T1_Threads_22_Master_References, T1_Languages_and_Script_Master,

T1_Vril_and_Magic_System_Master, T1_Integrity_Paths_Worldstates_Master, T1_Ability_Tree,

T1_Combat_System_Spec, T1_Trades_Master, T1_Tier_C_MMO_Spec, T1_RNG_Sigma_Constraint_System,

and the handbook itself — all in _source/01_Tier_1_Foundation/ (and _source/99_…/).

T0 registries (§4.2): the converted CSVs in registries/<name>/<tab>.csv (29 registries).

Character/antagonist (§4.3): _source/03_Tier_3_Characters/ (Core, Supporting, Familiars_Named) +

_source/04_Tier_4_Antagonist/T4_House_of_Velheim_Canonical.

Continuity anchor (§4.6): the previous chapter's entry from the spine output doc + the

handbook §7.5 Living Revision Log.

Readiness preconditions — repo status (handbook §1 / §12)

(Ch 75/76/77/Prologue/Epilogue) authored → full Ch 2-77 + Pro + Epi coverage; the 5 endgame flags

adversarially resolved against full canon and the doc flipped to [ACTIVE v1.1.4].

Gaps to close before Ch 2 can run (remote-control readiness)

1. RCM ACTIVE flip — DONE. The 5 endgame flags were adversarially resolved against full canon and the RCM flipped to [ACTIVE v1.1.4] (Phase 5.6 closed).

2. Spine output target — RULED (Josh, 2026-07-03): v2.4 ENHANCES the existing v1.0 entries as

audit baseline (per the handbook §3 Phase-8 note) — audit + enhance + check everything against the

strengthened foundation; not a from-scratch restart. In-repo, the output is this .md (not a Drive

doc) — the handbook's Drive read/append steps map to editing this file.

3. §8 Book Processing corpus query layer (ChromaDB) is NOT available in-repo. Handbook Step 7 substrate-read

assumes it. Repo adaptation: the now-complete T1_RCM (per-chapter Verified-canon + Tier 1-3 source

lists + Sacred-USB routing) is the substrate-research layer for the cascade until Project 2 Book Processing

is stood up. Each chapter session reads its RCM section instead of a ChromaDB query.

Acquisition policy: buy only the curated MUST-ACQUIRE set in docs/BOOK_ACQUISITION.md (~158

specialist primary + §17.1 high-care anchors); everything else is deep-researched via agent deep-dives +

adversarial synthesis, not purchased.

4. Custom Instructions. The handbook references Drive-project "v3.8-Spine CI." In Claude Code the operative

instructions are CLAUDE.md + the session. A cascade session should load this scaffold + the handbook

rather than a Drive CI.

5. Per-chapter critic discipline (CLAUDE.md mandate): run a fresh-context critic subagent on each authored

spine entry to check it against CVD §17 hard lines + grounding before acceptance — the same pattern used to

verify Chunk 5B-2 this session. Hard-line chapters additionally route through Stage-2 canonical questions

(handbook Appendix A) before authoring.

Per-chapter session shape (handbook §6, repo-adapted)

1 Session identity (chapter N, hard-line flag). 2 Preconditions + Range-Review gate. 3 Load §4.1 foundation

(repo paths). 4 Load T0 registry CSVs for the chapter row + FKs. 5 Load T3/T4 character refs. 6 Continuity

anchor = previous entry + Living Revision Log. 7 Substrate read = RCM chapter section (repo) + goal-anchor

preamble. 8 Stage-2 canonical questions (hard-line only, Appendix A). 9 Author body prose (200-400 words,

close-third, arc-level) + structured-field scatter to T0; mid-scope checkpoint at ~200 words. 10 Critic + author

review; 3-8 [DECISION NEEDED - JOSH] markers expected. 11 Lock entry. 12 Handoff to Ch N+1.

What is NOT in scope here

Authoring spine content (Josh's creative work, driven through the cascade); the §8 ChromaDB pipeline; Drive

connectivity. This scaffold readies the harness; the cascade produces the canon.

Generated by harness/site/structure_site.py — the URL path is the repo path. review root